Frederick John Stockdale
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
William and Mary Isabella Stockdale (nee Cox) married in Retford in 1876. William was a lifelong locomotive engine driver living in Church Lane, Ordsall, Retford. They produced nine children, William B 1878, Sarah T 1879, Agnes L 1882, Frederick J 1884, Frances N 1887, Eva H 1889, Samuel R 1890, Reginald V 1891 and Basil E 1901 all born in Retford. The first to leave the family home was their fourth child, Frederick John Stockdale, the circumstances being that he joined the army. The date of his enlisting is unknown but in 1911 he was resident as Private Frederick Stockdale, 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards. Blenheim Barracks, Marlborough Lines, Aldershot. Hampshire
Frederick was already a regular soldier at the commencement of the war and as such, was one of the first to leave the shores of the UK on 13 August 1914. Details of his war movements are unknown as yet, but at some stage, he must have carried out a brave act, being awarded the Military Medal. He almost survived the war but was killed in action 3 months before the armistice. He is buried in the Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux. France. Sergt Fred J Stockdale Retford Times 12th April 1918 Mr and Mrs W Stockdale, Beech Cottage, Ordsall, received a letter on Thursday eveing that their second son, Sergt Fred J Stockdale, Grenadier Guards, has been killed in action in France on March 28th. A chaplain , in his letter, described how bravely and nobly he died, and mentioned that he was buried where he fell. The deceased was 34 years of age and as a boy was a member of Ordsall Church Choir and attended Thrumpton School. He was a groom at West Retford Hall and joined the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry Regiment. He volunteered for service in the South African war and was awarded the medal. Then he joined the Regular Army and had fought for his country since the beginning of the present war. He recently won the Military Medal and had been mentioned in despatches. He had been home on leave three times, the last in October of 1917. A brother, Pte Reginald Stockdale, Sherwood Foresters is in France. Great sympathy is felt for the bereaved parents.
Research by Colin Dannatt
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